Forging press



May 6, 1941. H. MERGEL 2,240,661v

FORGING PRESS Filed June 28, 1959 '5 Sheets-Sheet 1 i' N i j Y WWW H. MERGEL FORGING PRESS May 6, 1941.

Filed June 28, 1959 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 May 5, 1941. H. MERGEL 2,240,661

FORGING PRESS Filed June 28, 1939 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Patented May 6, 1941 by msne assignments, to Schloemann Engineelhg Corporation, Pittsburgh, Pa., a `corporation of Delaware Application JunemZS, 1939, Serial No. 281,601 In Germany July9,'j19`38 QSClaims. (01.75430 The present invention relates to a forging press of the type in which the work is shaped in a series of operations, the die tools being changed after each operation and the blank placedbetween the top and bottom dies of another forming tool. This changing of the die tools renders Referringto theVA drawings, the upperixcro/sshead of' the" press isV numbered I and the supporting base for "the columns `is` numberedl.

it necessary to remove the work from the bottom die after each operation and to place it in position between the upper and lower dies of the next forming tool. The latter movement is' advantageously carried out immediately upon the new bottom die being brought into position ready for the next operation. The object of the inventionrv is to facilitate the running of presses of the' kind described in such manner as to make the work of removing the blank or work from one die and placing it between the upper and lower diesV n 1 A away from each other in the horizontal plane on of the next forming tool purely automatic,V the essential feature of the invention consisting. rendering the operations on the press useful for carrying out the operation hereinbeforeV described. Y

One construction of press according to `the invention is i1lustrated,.by way of example, the accompanying drawings in its application-to a press of the vertical column type for the production of rotary bodies, such as car wheels, or bodies of irregular shapes, thedepression in the finishing die corresponding to the relief in the work sought. The various figures of the drawings all show respectively `one half of the pressr Fig. 3 shows the cros'shead raised into a" third position a little farther to cause lateral displacement Vof the finger clamps to grip the work blank.

Fig. 4 shows the crosshead raised still further into a fourth position which is the uppermost position of its travel, to raise the finger clamps as they grip the work blank, free of the bottom die, so that both dies can be changed, and

Fig. 5 shows the first step in the lowering operation, with the crosshead lowered into a iifth position and the control rod disconnected from the crosshead to render the iinger clamps inoperative with movement of the crosshead when the work blank is to be changed.

into a secondV The upper half of the die is carried onf uand adapted to move sideways, adjustablylacross the crosshead 4, which latter isguided forvertical reciprocation onjthe columns 3, while the `bottom die 6 is adapted to 'move yon the base. AThe pressing' operation is eiected by means of the hydraulic cylinder T 'working in conjunction with the plunger '8, which is connected to the crosshead 4. The blank to `be pressed is numbered 5; The press is littedl with a two part clamping device, of which the two halves (the part illustrated being numbered I0 and the other half being in the `right unillustrated half ofthe apparatus) vare adaptedl to move towards and supporting brackets Il toward .and away from blank 9. Each bracket, II carries a rocking lever I2 which rotates abouta pivot I3 and is hinged at |31` to one of the' movable halves I0 of the clamp. The clamping device is caused to close and open'by'rnovingthe. levers I2' respectively towards and away from each other. Each lever l2 is subjectto the action of a weighted lever I4;

these weighted levers tend to maintain the halves `of the clamp apart. Eachrbracket II rests upon a plunger l5, which ispunder a constant pressureof water in the cylinder I6. The plunger I5,v is carried at the end of a piston rod l'I having at its opposite'end adjustable stop nuts I8. The

force exerted by the water in the cylinder IIB to force the plunger I5 upwards also lifts the sleeve 29, which is carried by the bracket II and whose upper annular surface presses against the crosshead 4. Pivotedv to the lev'erld lat I9 is arod '20, which carriesja resilient stop 2| adapted to connection or'the like. The lever 23 is adapted to oscillate about a pivot 24, and rigidly connected to it is a lever 25 which is pivotally connected to a second piston rod 26. The rod 26 has its upper end sliding in a primary cylinder 2l and its lower end sliding in a secondary cylinder 28. There is a constant water pressure in the secondary cylinder 28, while water in the cylinder 21 is arranged so that its pressure can be controlled.

The press operates in the following manner:

Figure 1 shows a press after the completion of a pressing operation. If the upper die 5 is raised by lifting of the crosshead 4, the latter takes with it the rod 2D by reason of the eXtension 22 engaging with the resilient stop 2|. The Water under pressure in the lifting plunger cylinders I 8, forces the plungers I5, and thereby the brackets I I, upwardly the sameV amount as the amount the rod 2B moves upwardly. The eiect is that the lifting movement of the brackets II bringsthe movable halves I9, of vthe clamp into the starting position vertically as shown in Figure 2. The upward movement of the brackets II ceases as soon as the nut I8 abuts against the lower end of the cylinder I6 (see Figure 2), but the rod 2i) in continuing to move upwardly with the crosshead turns the levers I4 so that, as shown in Figure `3, the two halves I0 of the clamping device are moved towards one another to engage, and grip the work 9, which it will be observed has been freed from the upper half of the die due to the latter having been raised with the crosshead. While the halves of the clamping device are moving horizontally toward each other to grip the work, the

brackets II and the sleeves 29 are stationary, so that the crosshead 4 will move away from the sleeve 29 as will be seen in Figure 3. As the rods 20 continue to rise with the crosshead, they will continue to raise the brackets II, with the'result that the work, gripped between the halves of the clamp, is raised clear of the under die 6 (see Figure 1i). During the last-mentioned movement the brackets II have (as shown in Figure 4) been lifted away from the plungers I5." The machine operator can now change the die by replacing the previous two halves, the top and botto1n dies 5 and 6 with new ones. The succeeding action of placing the work in the new die iscarried out automatically by causing the working operations before described to be performed in the reverse order and Abackward by the lowering of the crosshead 4. Thus in this operation the clamping'halves I 9, Il iirst of all movedownward carrying with them the work. Immediately thebrackets I I engage the plungers I5, the lowering movement o'f the brackets is temporarily suspended, so that further lowering of the rods 29, :causes the clamping parts lil to separate, this action being facilitated by the weighted levers I4. The work is thus released from clamps I Il for shaping by application of the new dies. Immediately these clamping parts I0 have been opened into the positionshown in Figures 1 or 2, the crosshead 4 will come down and engage with the sleeve 29.

Consequently furtherV downward movement of l the crosshead 4 forces the plunger I5 downwardly against the resistance of the water under pressure in the cylinder I6. At the same time the various parts of the press revert to the position shown in Figure 1. Thereupon, the cycle of movements described above can be repeated.

In order to render the clamping device inoperative on the opening of the die for the changing of `the work, the plunger in the cylinder 21 is subjected tov water under pressure, The effect of this is to swing the lever 23 outwardly. At the same time the rod 20 is swung about pivot I9, causing the resilient stop 2I to be released from the extension 22 on the crosshead 4, as shown in Fig. 5. If the crosshead 4 be now lifted, the clamping device remain-s unaffected, the slotted connection previously referred to permitting the rod 20 to move axially. After the new work has been introduced into the press, lowering of the crosshead 4 will permit the rod 20 to return the position shown in Figure 1. Since pressure in cylinder 28 will swing the rod 20 inwardly to re-engage the stop 2| with the extension 22, the cycle of operations described can now be performed on the new work.

The invention is not conned to the construction of the apparatus described and illustrated, for it is concerned principally with the device which is controlled for gripping the work and removing it from one of the dies of the press.

I claim:

1. In a forging press for shaping a work blank, a vertical column, a crosshead, means for supporting said crosshead to be vertically movable and guideableV on said column, a base supportingv said column, a lower die mounted on said base, an upper die carried o n said crossheady in register withsaid lower die, a projecting forked lug carried by said crosshead, a control rod, means for supporting said control rod vertically slidably and engageably with said forked lug, said control rod carrying a stop for engaging said lug, aV bracket vertically displaceable on said column, a clamping finger horizontally displaceable on said bracket and adapted to engage a work blank positioned on said lower die, lever means pivotally mounted on said bracket and engageable with said finger for horizontal displacement thereof, saidlever means further engaging said control rod for displacement therewith, and a sleevew vertically displaceably mounted on said column intermediate said crosshead and said bracket, said apparatus being so constructed and arranged that when said crosshead is in its top position said dies are separated and said work blank vis supported therebetween clear thereoi by saidfbracket and said iinger and as said crosshad lowered into successive lower posi-- tions, said blank is lowered to rest on said lower die and said nger is retracted clear of said lower de'and said upper die is forced down to impress said blank.

2.A forgingpress according to claim Land disconnecting means adapted to disconnect said control rod and'its stop irom engagement with said forked lug, for rendering said rod and said bracketindependent of movement of said crosshead for changing said work blank. j

3. A forging press according to claim 1, and a plunger, and means forsupporting` said plunger resiliently vertically displaceably with reference to said baseV andA engageably Vwith said bracket in. a depressed position of said bracket.

HEINRICH MERGEL. 

